A pet owner is longing for the safe return of her cat after the beloved animal escaped from a Woosehill veterinary practice last week.

Maria Brown took her two tabbies Angel and Lexi to Woosehill Vets last Wednesday afternoon for to be neutered and castrated.

However, when the 24-year-old, who lives in Fairwater Drive in Woodley, returned to the surgery 24 hours later she was at first handed back a rabbit before being told Lexi, a two-year-old male, had escaped prior to his operation.

Miss Brown’s neighbour and close friend Julie Bobb contacted The Wokingham Times to explain how her companion, who is too upset to talk, had been told the cat escaped through a window at the surgery in Emmview Close.

Staff have since apologised for what they have described as a “nightmare”.

Mrs Bobb said: “Obviously she [Miss Brown] is very upset.

“We have got a situation where she took two cats to Woosehill Vets for neutering and a castration and on returning the next day the female was there but the male had gone. To be honest the vet was very vague and we were there about three hours – they were dithering around and didn’t realise the cat was missing. We got there, explained we had come to collect two animals and they came back with one cat – and the other animal was a bunny rabbit.

“Lexi is a huge male tabby cat and he may be trying to find his way home, but obviously Woosehill to Woodley is quite a way.”

Mrs Bobb added Lexi’s sister Angel had to be rushed to a local vet hours after the surgery because she had managed to pull open one of her stitches.

This, she claims, could have been prevented if the practice had appropriately provided the animal with a protective collar.

The manager and vet at the Woosehill practice, who asked not to be named, said he was “very sorry” for what had happened before revealing he had not charged the customer for the treatment.

It was also explained Angel was not given the collar as it was forgotten during the ensuing kerfuffle over Lexi’s disappearance.

“What happened was not something we are very proud of,” the manager said.

“It definitely escaped. It must have got through a window, which has now been secured, and we have made all the relevant security checks to make sure this embarrassment never happens again.

“We are so, so sorry for what happened and we are doing the best we can to help.

“But I don’t think she should question our competence because we have been performing this kind of surgery for many years and never had any problems.

“We do what we do to the best of our knowledge and have done it time and time again. Okay, we have made a mistake and we are doing all we can to put it right. We are trying to run a successful and first class clinic and people are happy to use us.”

Anyone who may have seen the cat is asked to contact Mrs Bobb on (0118) 961 5875.